Yamal Shelf Company Received Vostochno-Seyakhinsky and Sredneobsky Blocks in the Kara Sea for Exploration

The government granted Igor Yusufov’s Yamal Shelf Company the right to use two subsoil plots in the Kara Sea without an auction. This is stated in disposal dated December 30, 2022.

“To grant, in accordance with the established procedure, Yamal Shelf Company LLC the right to use subsoil plots … which are provided for use without holding auctions,” the document says. We are talking about the Vostochno-Seyakhinsky subsoil area, as well as the Sredneobsky subsoil area. They will be studied in order to search for and evaluate hydrocarbon deposits.

Earlier, the government, by its order of June 20 awarded Yamal Shelf Company (part of the Energia fund of ex-Minister of Energy Igor Yusufov) licenses for geological exploration in the Ob and Baidaratskaya bays of the Kara Sea – Ust-Obsky 2, 3, 4 and Baidaratsky sections in the Kara Sea. These are the first licenses for areas in inland waters and the territorial sea (12 miles from the coast) that the government awards on a declarative basis.

Legislation now limits the access of private companies to work on the shelf, in fact, only the state-owned Rosneft and Gazprom have this right, notes “RIA News”. However, the boundary of the sea shelf begins 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea of ​​Russia, while the declarative principle in the waters of the seas extends to areas located both in the territorial sea and in internal waters. All Russian companies have the right to use subsoil in the water area up to the shelf boundary.

Maria Fedotova